This article applies to all TeamViewer users.
General
There are different passwords in connection with your TeamViewer usage. This article explains the different kind of passwords and their tasks and the way how to manage the different passwords.
💡Hint: TeamViewer highly recommends to always use unique and strong passwords for maximum security.
Password for spontaneous support
Random password
The random password is shown on the Remote Control tab of your TeamViewer application. This password is meant for spontaneous support sessions.
You can choose in the advanced options whether or when you would like TeamViewer to generate a new random password for incoming sessions (See: Random password after each session).
If you give your TeamViewer ID and the password shown underneath your ID to another person, this person will be able to connect to your device. As soon as the random password changes the person cannot access your device any longer until you give him the newly generated password.
💡Hint: Only allow persons you trust to remote control your device. Never give people you do not know or trust your TeamViewer ID nor password. We advise TeamViewer users to be careful with unsolicited phone calls and to not grant access to your PC to anyone you do not know or trust.
Please set up an AllowList to further limit access to your TeamViewer.
If you would like to change the random password manually you can hover with the mouse over the password field and a circle-arrow appears. Click the arrow to choose between the following options:
- Create new random password
- Copy random password to clipboard
- Set personal password
The random password can also be shown in the legacy QuickSupport applications which are working with a TeamViewer ID and a password instead of a service case number:
📌Note: If you see 4 star icons "****" instead of a password, a pre-defined password for the QuickSupport is set.
Password strength
You can choose the complexity of the password strength in your TeamViewer application under Extras --> Options --> Security --> Under Random Password (for spontaneous access) --> Password strength --> Choose your password strength --> Click OK
- Standard (4 digits): The password consists of 4 numbers. --> NOT recommended
- Secure (6 characters): The password consists of 6 alphanumeric characters.
- Secure (8 characters): The password consists of 8 alphanumeric characters.
- Very secure (10 characters): The password consists of 10 alphanumeric characters (including special characters).
- Disabled (No random password): No random password is generated.
📌Note: If the random password option is disabled and no personal password nor easy access is defined, you will not be able to connect with TeamViewer.
📌Note: If the Start TeamViewer with Windows box is checked in the General category, the random password strength will automatically be set to Secure (6 characters).
💡Hint: We recommend using at least a random password with 6 digits and creating a new random password after each session.
Random Password after each session
You can select whether or when you would like TeamViewer to generate a new random password for incoming sessions.
Under Extras --> Options --> Advanced--> Under Advanced settings for connections to this computer --> Random password after each session --> Choose your option --> Click OK
The following options are available:
- Keep current: The new password will not be generated until TeamViewer is restarted.
- Generate new: TeamViewer generates a new password after each completed session.
- Deactivate: A random password is generated only once.
- Show confirmation: TeamViewer asks you after each session whether you would like to generate a new password
💡Hint: We recommend generating a new random password after each session.
Password for unattended access
Easy access
For the most modern and secure unattended access configuration of your device, we encourage you to take advantage of TeamViewer’s password-less Easy Access.
This method can be classified as very secure because such access is only possible via a TeamViewer account, which can be protected additionally with the Two-factor authentication.
To activate Easy acces the device must be assigned to your TeamViewer account.
Watch this video to get a guided tour of how to activate Easy Access:
📌Note: You can only assign your device to your account if you have administrative rights and TeamViewer is installed.
If activated, access to the computer is only possible in the following cases:
- Easy access without password is only possible with your TeamViewer account.
- For other connections the TeamViewer ID and the password of the device are required.
- If you deactivate the random or personal password in the TeamViewer settings, you, and only you, have access to the device via your TeamViewer account.
📌Note: If the device is in a shared group, then all contacts that use the group, also have easy access to the device.
To activate easy access to a computer, start TeamViewer on the computer and make sure to be logged in to your TeamViewer account.
📌Note: If you have never used your TeamViewer account on a device, with an app or within a browser, you have to authorize the account usage at the first login.
If the device is already assigned to your TeamViewer account: Click Extras --> Options --> Security --> under Personal Password (for unattended access) activate the checkbox Grant easy access --> click OK
If the device is not yet assigned to your TeamViewer account: Click Extras --> Options --> Security --> click the Configure... button --> The Assign to account dialog box will open --> Click the Assign button --> Under Personal Password (for unattended access) activate the Grant easy access checkbox --> click OK.
You have activated easy access for this device.
📌Note: You must activate this function individually for each computer.
Personal password
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⚠IMPORTANT Information: TeamViewer recommends using Easy Access for unattended access. In the combination with the Two-Factor-Authentication, this protection covers accessing the TeamViewer account as well as any machine you are supporting via TeamViewer.
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If you opt in for a personal password, please ensure your personal password reflects the general best practices as the security is highly depending on the quality of the password entered in there:
Strong passwords are at least 8 characters long, ideally combining uppercase and lowercase letters with number digits as well as special characters.
If you are not meeting the basic requirements, TeamViewer will inform you accordingly and not accept a weaker password:
❌Please do not use dictionary words or terminology that might be used commonly by other people. You should also avoid adjacent keyword combinations like “qwerty” or “1q2w3e4r”. In general, aspire to create a password that is truly unique. A password manager can help with discipline.
Under Extras --> Options --> Security--> Personal password (for unattended access) you can type in your password. After confirming it by repeating your chosen password, click OK
The password you are choosing will never be visible to you or anybody else. Instead of the password you will see black dots.
You can remove the password by deleting the black dots.
📌Note: To increase security, the number of black dots in the password field are not necessarily equal to the number of characters in your password.
Password for Windows authentication
Instead of the TeamViewer authentication with the TeamViewer ID and the matching password, you can also log into the remote computer using a Windows user name and Windows password. This connection type is called Windows authentication and it can be used for all connection modes.
📌Note: Using this connection method requires that the connecting person knows the Windows user name and the Windows password of the remote device.
A typical use case for this connection mode is the possibility to control UAC (=User Account Control) dialogs on the remote device when making changes on the remote system (e.g. install a program).
📌Note: In TeamViewer Host as well as in the TeamViewer full version, this functionality for incoming connections must first be activated in the remote computer's options under the Security tab
📌Note: You can always use Windows login information to connect to TeamViewer QuickSupport.
How to establish a connection with authenticating on the Remote Computer using a Windows user account
- Start TeamViewer on your device
- Ask your partner to start TeamViewer and ask your partner for his/her TeamViewer ID
- Enter your partner's ID in the Partner ID field.
- Click the Connect button and the TeamViewer Authentication dialog box will open.
- Click on the Advanced (+) icon in the lower left corner and select Windows from the Authentication drop-down list.
- Enter the Windows username and Windows password for a Windows user account on the remote computer in the corresponding fields.
- Click Log On
💡Hint: Make sure that all Windows logins are secured using strong passwords.
Password for your TeamViewer account
With your TeamViewer account you get access to your Computers & Contacts list: here, you can centrally manage computer and contact data of TeamViewer connection partners.
You can use your TeamViewer account for
- the Computers & contacts list in your TeamViewer application
- the TeamViewer Management Console
- the TeamViewer Community (incl. TeamViewer Remote Management, TeamViewer IoT and TeamViewer Meeting).
📌Note: The password for the TeamViewer account is defined and managed by you.
You can create your TeamViewer account in the TeamViewer application (1) or in the TeamViewer Management Console (2) by clicking on Sign up or by joining the TeamViewer Community by clicking on Join (3):
(1) Sign up for a TeamViewer account in the TeamViewer application
(2) Sign up for a TeamViewer Account in the Management Console
Use your E-mail address and choose an unique, secure and strong password when creating your TeamViewer account. In addition to the password for your TeamViewer account you can add the Two factor authentication to your TeamViewer account.
(3) Sign up for a TeamViewer account by joining the TeamViewer Community
💡Hint: We recommend that every person is having an own TeamViewer acccount. Special case for companys: Using a Master Account for the TeamViewer Management Console.
You can manage the password of your TeamViewer account in the TeamViewer Management Console and in the options of your TeamViewer application under Extras --> Options --> Computers & Contacts --> New password --> Type in your new password --> click OK.
Learn more about the Computers & contacts list in this article: What is a TeamViewer Account?
Password to protect your TeamViewer options
You can protect the TeamViewer options with a password to avoid that other persons or regular users change your defined options for the TeamViewer application.
You can set up the password in the TeamViewer options under Extras --> Options --> Advanced --> click Show advanced options --> under TeamViewer options --> Protect options with password choose and type in your password and repeat the passord under Confirm password
After you activated the password protection for the TeamViewer options it is only possible to access the options by typing in the correct password:
You can remove the password protection by deleting the password in the advanced TeamViewer options.
Password for meetings
You can set a password for instant as well as for scheduled meetings.
This allows that only persons who know the Meeting ID and the password can join your meetings.
Password for instant meetings
You can set up a pre-defined password for all instant meetings in the TeamViewer options under Extras --> Options --> Meeting --> under Meeting defaults --> Enter your pre-defined password
📌Note: The password will be displayed as plain text.
Password for scheduled meetings
You can set up a password for your scheduled meetings in the Schedule a Meeting dialog by going to the Meeting tab in your TeamViewer application and clicking on Schedule a Meeting:
📌Note: You can set up different passwords for each meeting.
📌Note: Adding a password to a meeting is optional.
Temporarily save connection passwords
You can set up that your TeamViewer is temporarily saving connection passwords to make your workflow easier when connecting multiple times to a specific device when there is noone on the remote device, who could provide you with a changing random password.
Please keep in mind that there is an automated clearance of the cached password from memory after 5 minutes.
You can set up this setting in the TeamViewer options under Extras --> Options --> Advanced --> click Show advanced options --> under Advanced settings for connections to other computers --> check the box:
Password for TeamViewer server
If you got a password for a TeamViewer server for testing purposes from the TeamViewer Support, you can add it in the TeamViewer options under Extras --> Options --> Advanced --> Advanced network settings --> TeamViewer server --> click Configure and add the password.
Export password for unattended access for deployment
If you would like to deploy TeamViewer in your environment with the MSI package you have the possibility to deploy a password for unattended access.
Since your TeamViewer password for unattended access is encrypted in the registry it is not possible to export the current password for unattended access by deploying the .reg file in your domain. Therefore you have to add a password for unattended access for the deployment manually during the export. For this follow these steps:
- Open your TeamViewer application and open the advanced TeamViewer options by clicking on Extras --> Options --> Advanced --> click Show advanced options --> under TeamViewer options --> Export options to a *.tvopt file --> Click Export...
- Save the .tvopt file on your device
- A new window will open: check the box Export personal password and add the password you would like to deploy and repeat the password in the 2nd field again
- Click Export
- Follow the process as described in the manual for MSI deployment
